To Have and To Hold
by Reddo Meijisu
Summary: [ BSSM / FFIV crossover ] In an unsuitable desire to change destiny, the worlds of Crystal Tokyo and the Blue Planet are both caught up in similar rifts. (Rated for Language/violence). **Chapters modified; Plus, 'Interlude' & Chapter 2 are up!**
1. Prologue

. To Have and To Hold .  
By 'Angel Magess.'  
  
Yeah. General stupid disclaimers. FF4/Square. Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon/Takeuchi N.   
  
  
  


- **Prologue** -

  
  


URANUSU PLANETTO POWAA -- MEIKU-AP!

  
  


_Mother Earth, Father Sky, Brother Wind, Sister Water, and Godmother Destiny all had their own reasons why they granted my partner, the rest of the Sailor Soldiers, and I submissions of the elements for duties other than battle itself. Battle only came when it was necessary to protect our king, queen, and, eventually, crown princess herself. Each part of the royal family of White Neo-Crystal Tokyo had their purpose in insuring a world of peace, and under my vow to the Godfather of the Sky, Uranus, I wouldn't let any enemy penetrate the core - ever again - that held peace together in our kingdom._

  
  


Let me handle this! -- WAADO SHAKINGU!

  
  
__

Maybe I was too overconfident in knowing that nothing could get past me. I used to joke with Queen Selenity how traces of dirt lined around the bottom of her gowns, making me 'wonder' if it was a new fashion statement going around. Soldier Neptune, my partner, would always horribly scold me afterward, and reassure our queen that whatever she wore was indeed fine. I think the queen knew this -- that I was joking, because her tears never lasted more than two seconds until Neptune blatantly reassured her all was allright.

  
  


Soldier Jupiter! Soldier Neptune! Direct your strongest spells into my sword on the count of three! Maybe we'll defeat this trap if we all work together. Okay? One-! Two-! Three! SPAACU SORDO BLASTAA!

  
  
__

Of course, Soldier Neptune was always the light in my eyes, and my only reason for accepting Godmother Destiny into my heart. Everything I did, I proudly did with the honor of knowing that her valor was always in my personal favor. Our bond towards one another was so strong that to this day, to this moment, I know that she would always wait for me forever, despite how many times I made her promise me that if something were to ever happen to me, she would eventually find someone else to always make her smile on a particularly cloudy day.

  
  
__

Whenever I think about the tragedy that happened just days before the dawning of Lady Princess Selenity's sixteenth birthday, I like to think that her love for me is still unconditional, sans the fact that I alone had brought dishonor to both Uranus and Endymion, sans the fact that Neo Crystal Tokyo would probably damn me forever. Soldier Neptune is still out there, thinking of me. This I know and believe because why am I still holding on now?

  
  


Good work, everyone. The king and queen will be pleased to know that today's training, like all the others past, have brought nothing but comittment to protecting our kingdom, and the _Ginguishzio__ at all costs. Let's retire back to the palace. I think I smell Queen Selenity's food burning again.._

  
  
__

She's out there alone, my Michiru. I promise to return to her, someday, somehow.

  
  
  


~ * ~ * ~*~ * ~

  
  
  



	2. Chapter 1: Unfortunate Misgivings

. To Have and To Hold .  
By 'Angel Magess.'  
  
Yeah. General stupid disclaimers. FF4/Square. Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon/Takeuchi N.   
  
  
  


~ * ~ * ~*~ * ~

  
  
  


**Chapter One: Unfortunate Misgivings**

  
  


The breeze that ruffled strands of short, closely cropped wheat-blonde hair brought out a delighted sigh from the tall, lanky soldier, whose austere porcelain face was lightly drenched with rivets of pulsating sweat. This was indeed so delightful she lowered her swift, proud pace to a halt to allow her mind to become absorbed in the gentle caress and embrace.

  
  
__

I really am proud of them all, even if I might seem like a threatening bitch at times, she thought, breathing out with the swaying posture of the invisible motif. _We might of not had an attack in days, but we can never be so sure.._

  
  


"It seems as if the sky is honoring you as usual, Haruka," chuckled an everso familiar voice from in back of the Uranusian Soldier. The gentle touch and firm squeeze of a gloved hand upon her shoulder would further confirm her suspicions.

  
  


"The water and music rifts should be honoring you too, Michiru, just like everyone else's acceptable terms. We've all put up a sweat today, and for that, I couldn't be happier," she nodded, resting a hand atop the other soldier's own. "I just wish this constant threat could finally end, and we can all return to our homes for at least a week, or three."

  
  


Michiru inwardly smiled, careful not to spill too much of her hidden glee to let the taller soldier catch on a vibe. As their homes were actually quite a distance from each other, this time they spent together (even if it was just extra training to assure the safety of the royal family of Neo Crystal Tokyo) was, in her eyes, nothing but bliss. Her free arm reached around to clasp the other soldier around her chest as she brough her chin up to rest upon the hand overlapping hers. "It'll come soon enough, but not anytime soon. On my jog this morning to the seaside, the water itself looked different."

  
  


"Why didn't you wake me up to go? Got someone else on your mind?" mumbled Haruka in a joking tone. Her head turned slightly to peer into the aqua-haired soldier's eyes, deep and crystal-clean as the sea of Serenitatis itself, only to find the sharp curves of her visage tightened into a stormy glare.

  
  


"I'm appalled that you'd say that! The water was beckoning to me, Haruka Tenoh, just like the sky itself requests your presence for speed and presicion when it comes to protecting our king, queen, and princess," snapped Michiru, instantly withdrawing her embrace from the other soldier in order to plant her gloved hands upon her hips. Fingertips tightened lightly upon the fabric of her aqua-green mid-thigh length skirt, eloquently designed in the traditional sailor trademark that had made her, and the rest of her soldier companions, well known by name throughout Crystal Tokyo and the rest of the universe.

  
  


_Someone must be on her rag today,_ thought Haruka, drawing out a quiet sigh, and shaking her head before turning to face the soldier of Neptune. Usually, Michiru wasn't this sensitive when it came to her joking; In fact, the two of them often would joke in front of the other soldiers, and pretend to flirt, even though Haruka was the one who usually protagoned this the most. "Michiru-san.. You should know I was joking. You're the only one for me, and I'm sure I'm the only one for you."

  
  


This only brought the Neptunian Soldier to turn on the heel of her elegantly designed shoe, leaving her back to face Haruka.

  
  


_Most definetly on her rag._ The wheat-blonde haired soldier chuckled aloud (mostly at her thought than the stubborness of Michiru), whipping a white-gloved hand through her hair before stepping up to wrap her arms from behind the soldier of Neptune. "Michiru-san, you know I love you, with all my heart. I'd destroy whatever was in your way in order to make you happy," she whispered, bringing her chin to rest on the other soldier's shoulder. "It wouldn't matter if the day was sunny, because if you're not happy, then neither am I."

  
  


Michiru released a loud huff, purposefully squirming underneath Haruka's loving embrace. "You just say that, Haruka-sama. You've been so busy with the orders Queen Selenity and King Endymion gave you as of late, I'm surprised you even _care_ about me anymore."

  
  


"Now that's not fair!" burst out Haruka, dropping her embrace upon Michiru as though her arms her weightless. A hand reached out to tightly grip the aqua-haired soldier's shoulder, and wrench her around so that she (surprise and anger clashing to flood her flawless features) was facing her. "Michiru, I didn't even _want_ to be called away from the Palace of Amber just because Princess Selenity all of a sudden inherited the _Ginshuizhio'_s ability to see madness and destruction plotting to change Destiny for the upteenth damn time! In fact, I didn't even _want_ the position of furthering instructing and training the other _senshi!_ I took it because King Endymion requested me personally, while Queen Selenity awaits the arrival of our new prince or princess! All I _wanted_ was to live my life the way I wanted to -- with you. If that's murder in your sleep, well, then, I'm sorry! Furthermore --"

  
  


"Um, excuse me?"

  
  


"WHAT? Can't you see I'm trying to explain life to my --!" growled Haruka, whirling around to face another lesser tall figure. Seeing the even more frightened look she gave the newcomer immediantely calmed her down. "Soldier Mercury, I.. Er.."

  
  


The blue-haired soldier of Ice was dressed in a light powder-blue satin gown that reached her the bottom tips of her ankles, which were incased in ivory dress sandals. The golden band tiara that encircled her forehead made her look all the more like a frightened doe that had just been tagged. "Sorry to interrupt, but, ah. It's almost dinner time. Princess Selenity wishes to address us this evening, and, er. That's _ALL_ of us, from Soldiers Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and myself, to you, Neptune, Saturn, and Pluto," she stammed, managing a weak curtsey, and an equally weaker smile before quickly turning, and running as fast as her dress heels would carry her back to the glittering palace of crystal in the close distance.

  
  


"She's going to fall if she isn't careful," she mumbled, before turning back to Michiru, only to find she wasn't there. A shift around of her dark-blue eyes would capture her slender form running not all that far behind Soldier Mercury.

  
  


"Damn it all!" snarled Haruka, kicking the tip of her dark-blue boot into the lush green grass. It wasn't just Mercury interrupting her 'speech' to Michiru, or even close. Something else was prodding at the soldier's heart as well besides the fact she desperately wanted to return home. The tiara and _henshin_ were unavoidable, she knew, but it figured: Every time they found peace, some evil of sort threatened to release that precaptured hell once again.

  
  


She stood a moment, lifting her gaze from the beautiful double-doors that granted Mercury and Neptune access inside the Crystal Palace, and glanced at her surroundings. The beautiful grounds that were marked as 'kingdom territorial' were set on a constantly windswept plain of lush, green grasses in the appropriate seasons, and snow as white as the moon itself in winter. The sky that moment lingered in a dismal light grey hue, a color that made the servant of the sky shudder with revolt.

  
  


_It's funny, but I don't sense a change at all_, she thought. _The sky looks nasty enough, though, but calm. Is this why Michiru's so angry..?_ Her head shook before finally starting down the way to the path that'd take her back to the Crystal Palace.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


A shrill scream broke out through the cooridoors of a grey-bricked hall, reaching past the main rooms, on out to the courtyards, and possibly past the vacant depths of a golden desert where the aforementioned establishment sat, idly baking in the sun. This, of course, brought immediate attention from some-odd violet-uniformed guards patrolling both the interior and exterior of the castle compounds. In mass portions they ran towards the source of the sound, sheathed daggers that had once been strapped to the inside of their boots clenched tightly in their hands (although if something were indeed attacking the queen or princess, then this might not of been any help.)

  
  


"Queen Nadeshikou! Princess Christine!" barked an overly large commander known as Rudiel. His dark-complected visage seemed unusually lighter, of course, in fear. Biting his lip, he halted mid, motioning some of the guards off. "Find King Edward, and make sure he's safe! We'll make sure --"

  
  


Some of the guards blinked at Rudiel's sudden pause in sentence, while others shouted for a move-on, and struggled to get by in order to aid their queen and princess. The commander held out a gloved palm for silence, and dropped the cutlass he was tightly holding in his right hand. Quietly, he trekked towards the not-too-distant open doorway where the scream, and an accompaniment of, "_Get it away!_" continued to sail past.

  
  


As he stepped up to the doorway and peered in (the guards struggling to get a look within the room as well either out of the etched curiosity of Rudiel, or in annoyance.), he nearly doubled over with what he saw: The blonde-haired king was backed up into the farthest corner of the room, the everso familiar bard's plumed beret whisked off his head to use as a fending tool against a madly flying sandmoth, who was taking a tour of the room on zoomed wings as though a random White Mage had casted the spell of Bersk upon him. Amid the loud screams of the monarch, they hadn't heard the ensuing laughter of the little child rolling about on the floor, his arms clutched tight around his stomach, thinking this whole ordeal rather hillarious.

  
  


"King.. Edward..?" Rudiel mentally slapped his hand against his forehead, mainly for taking for granted that the shrillish screams belonged to the queen, or princess. The other guardsmen began talking amongst theirselves upon hearing this news.

  
  


"EEEEE! RUDIEL! GET IT OUT OF HERE! OUT! OUUT!" screeched the blonde-haired man, still waving his plumed beret at the creature (who was currently on the other side of the room, buzzing about the ivy that hung from a cabinet of tea cups), which caused the boy rolling around on the floor to laugh harder.

  
  


"B.. But, Dad! It's just a _very_ giant, _very_ _scary_Sandmoth! There's no reason to be.. **_AFRAID_** of it!" cachinnated the brown-haired child, gasping for breath at the same time. 

  
  


The gathered guards that Rudiel had allowed to enter the queen's parlor looked around at each other, and shrugged, struggling to keep a straight face. Finally, the tallest of them - a muscular man known by his comrades only as Hercules - stepped from them towards the madly fluttering Sandmoth creature. "Don't worry, King Edward. I'll have this little bastard out of here in no time."

  
  


The boy's (thinking the reference of 'little bastard' meant him, as it seemed to usually.) laughter died away as quickly as it started. The red cloak he wore in accordance with a dark green robe flickered and fluttered about as angrily as the inept buzzing of the Sandmoth's wings as he rolled onto his stomach, and used his small, pudgy hands to assist him in standing. "Now see here, you clumsy shit! This is the _PRINCE__ of Damcyan you're calling 'bastard,' and a highly super-genius Black Mage of Mysidia at that! Dad, have his ass thrown in the dungeon!"_

  
  


Neither Edward or Hercules paid attention to him; The monarch was still crouched in the corner, azure-colored eyes wide with fear - both for the phobia against the paper-winged creature, and that the barbarian of a guard would definetly break something by running around spitting deeper obscenities everytime his thick fists missed grappling the fleeing creature.

  
  


"Ah! Just a minute, King Edward! Almost -- Dammit! -- Got this! Ugh! You little friggin' shit butterfly!" roared the guard, shaking a fist in anger. The creature simply continued to circle madly around the room, ignoring him as most Sandmoths might.

  
  


"What in the name of the crystals is going on here?" sighed a mid-soprano voice from the doorway. "Everyone, disperse! Now! Get back to your posts!" The bard leaned forward just enough to see the velvet-crimson gown of a red robe; straining his eyes up further would allow him to eventually see the rather annoyed look that played havoc with a usually gentle porcelain face surrounded by dark-pink tresses.

  
  


"Queen Nadeshiko! Just trying to get this butterfly here," nodded Hercules, his dark-green eyes still locked on the creature. "The young majesty apparently released it to scare his majesty."

  
  


"That's not true, you lying sack of larva dung!"

  
  


"The damn thing flew in the window!"

  
  


"Anna. My name is ANNA."

  
  


The Damcyani queen blinked out of confusion, as their sentences were jumbled over together, but didn't let it get to her easily. Tresses were tossed about as slender hands fell to her sides to grip the soft fabric between digits, and gently raise the hem portion of the gown off the ground in order to step further into the room. "Carry on, Hercules. Edward, what are you doing on the floor? The beginnance Flower Festival is in another hour, and you and Palom both aren't dressed!" she groaned, glancing from the king, to her son.

  
  


The child mage didn't seem so pleased to hear her words. "Every year, we _must_ go to this stupid Flower Festival, and for what? A bottle of Sand Wine, and a flower made out of sand crystals!" Palom snorted, slamming a booted foot against the confine of the castle floor so hard, it even made Hercules jump. "Dammit, Mom, you _could_ get them somewhere else, _but nooooo_! They have to be fresh from THE DAMN FESTIVAL, and I ALWAYS have to go, and I HATE it!"

  
  


As the child brought his leg back up, the hints of a green aura flared around his small stature, only to gather into an already gripped fist, which charged out a single flare of fire from his fingertips as he smacked the sole of his boot against the floor once more.

  
  


The Sandmoth instantly flew back out of the window by which it came in, missing the charge unsuspectful charge by the end of its fuzzened attenaes. Apparently, it thought the intense heat of the desert was much better.

  
  


Hercules screamed, and ducked for cover besides the Damcyani king, whose eyes widened, as he glanced up to his wife.

  
  


Anna just groaned, halfly expecting this. Her father had the same nasty temper, and the overall stubborn attitude which did sure to anyone who suspected her and the boy weren't mother and son.

  
  


"Twenty minutes, you two. Porom and I are leaving to meet Rydia and Edge down there at the Kaipouan gate, as she's never been to the festival before. You're welcome to come if you like, but keep in mind the time. We're taking the hovercraft."

  
  


" '_Keep in mind the time, we're taking the hovercraft. Oh, hee-hee-hee_.' Dammit," Palom grumbled, as his mother disappeared back into the hall by which she came. "But at least I don't have to go."

  
  


"Correction: You _do_ have to go. Run along and find those Black Mage robes Elder gave you, and brush your hair," said his sire, standing. With a quick flourish he ducked away from the still quivering form of Hercules, and over to his son.

  
  


"THE HELL?! Aw, don't make me call that damn Sandmoth back in here! It'd be a shame if it ate you!" threatened the boy, running towards the window. "Hey! Sandmoth! Get your two-winged, fat centipeded ass back over here, you stupid centilopod! Dinner's on me -- HEY!" Edward was quicker, however, by leaning over and catching him around his waist with one arm before he even had a chance to reach the windowsil

  
  


"Yes, I know, childhood is so rough, especially when our best plans don't work," commented the monarch in a comforting, cooing voice, as he hauled his son off to be dressed, the child sputtering and spitting out every vulgar word he knew.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


The intricate clicking of dress shoes against the harsh stone of stairs was something Steven - captain of Damcyan's airship, _Melodia__ - hadn't heard ever since the second vows of King Edward and Queen Anna when the two took a trip to Agart for their honeymoon. Leaning back against one of the towers on the upper bridge above the gates, he didn't expect to be greeted by (or even granted the opportunity to see) the White Mage princess attired in a sleeveless dress of light mint green. Her golden-brunette hair was pulled back as per its usual style, but tail-ends coiffed in neat little curls. Like most people in the town and kingdomship, he was one of many who had immediantely fell in love with her gentle demeanor, and almost playful personality from the moment Edward had coronated her and her twin brother as princess and prince of Damcyan._

  
  


The girl, who looked to be about seven, or eight, apparently didn't see Steven, or was too absorbed in her own thoughts to even see if anyone else was along the upper bridge - a place she often called her own when she wanted to get away from the castle's insides, and be with her own thoughts. A boot found its way into a ridge of one of the bricked layers as she pulled herself up to peer over the long, dropping edge that lead to the golden sands below. In regards to the drop, she just simply shrugged, and stared forward, gazing into the many dunes that lined the outcropping of the Damcyan desert. Peering further, she could faintly see the shimmer of water flocked along the rocky shore of the beach, this, of course, bringing a soft smile of content to her adorable visage. Mysidia, where she spent the earlier years of her childhood, and did so still, practitioning White Magic, had the peaceful influence of the Water Crystal. Those who allowed it often opted to let the special link between Gaia (Mother Earth) and Luna (the moon) into their heart and soul, granting them the extra serenity than what had already been placed upon them. The girl held no exception.

  
  


Slowly, however, the girl glanced up into the sky, which, of course, was its usual clear, cloudless blue. Of course, wind wasn't the acting enchantment of Damcyan, but the breeze brought forward from the ocean brought out a sense of sorts in the magess. This sixth remark had often appeared once or twice in her life, but made perfect sense when she learned that both those of the von Muir dynasty, and her mother's father had these instincts as well.

  
  


_It was acting again.._

  
  
  


Steven couldn't help but smile as he watched the White Magess' every move. He shifted lightly, fumbling with the cup of coffee in his hand before stepping up next to her. "Beautiful day, eh, Young Miss Porom?"

  
  


The child nearly lost her balance in the grooves of the bridgeside in surprise, but managed to keep her gait steady. Shaking off her own brooding thoughts, she nodded briskly, glancing up at the airship pilot. "Indeed, sir. It's the perfect day for the Flower Festival down in Kaipou. My mother's really excited about going, even if my father and brother aren't."

  
  


"I tried to get Queen Anna to submit to letting me take you lot down there in the _Melodia_, but she blatantly insisted on the Hovercraft," he lightly chuckled, shaking his head at the same time, sending miskept strands of muddy black curls every-which-way. "Just between you and me, I think you're definetly right about her being a piece of work."

  
  


Porom giggled, nodding, her gaze once again travelling back towards the horizon. The water, of course, was calling to her again, but not in the childish longing every little one had of wanting to go swimming; This tone was different, almost warning. As she gazed, she could've sworn she thought she saw a dolphin lift itself out of the water in a circulatory jump, but its jump definetly wasn't one of glee. The whole viewable area of the bay looked ordinary, yes, but in the churning sensation in the pit of her stomach, she knew something bad was about to unfold once more...

  
  


"Porom.. Porom..!"

  
  


This time, the girl _did_ loose her balance when a hand placed on her back with the accompanying shout of her name sent her thoughts back out into the dust once more. Her head shook when she realized that her mother had caught her by the shoulders, and that Steven was staring at her with a puzzled look on his frazzled face.

  
  


"Welcome back to the Blue Planet, sweetheart," bade Anna in a sarcastic tone. "Your father and brother, I hope, are getting ready, so we should be departing soon," she nodded, setting the girl back on her feet, then glancing to the pilot for the last part of her sentence.

  
  


"No problem, your majesty," he grinned, saluting. "I'll sit out this one, as promised by your words."

  
  


Even as Anna and Steven left to make sure their respective preparations were slowing to complete, she couldn't help but look back into the horizon one last time..

  
  


"Come on, Gaia, Luna.. I beg of you.. Just let us all live in peace," she whispered, then turned to follow.

  
  
  


~ * ~ * ~*~ * ~

  
  
  
Notes, ect: Yeah, this is the end. =P Glad, huh? .. Some minor things: No, Steven is -not- a pedophile. x.x; Yes, Anna's alive. That, and more of Haruka will be explained in the next chapter. Stay tuned. =D 


	3. Interlude: One Last Wish

To Have and To Hold  
Interlude  
By Aa-chan  


**Interlude : One Last Wish**

.  
  
  
Even as the sunlight trickled upon his naked scaly flesh, fed him warmth and life through the cold, unyielding barriers of inky-blue water, Revalla knew that the only thing to swim within the Kaipouan Oasis today would be a pattern of water lillies - and besides the point of being beneficial to the herbivorous, they had an odd reputation of floating atop the water rather than beneath where he felt susceptible to lurk within the murky shadows, and wait. Just wait.  
  
Webbed fingers easily slopped through the weightless-seeming aquatic dryness, brushing at one of the ridged fins which lined both his cheekbones, beady onyx eyes boredly watching the few lingering bubbles which exited by way of breathing out through the water current (such as most creatures of the water did), as he continued his ponderance in silence. Once a year, as noted, the villagers that resided amongst the giant oasis seemed to entertain themselves by shouting - be it their voices, or some rubbish called 'music' - nearly all praises known within Gaia pertaining to flowers. "Flowers-this," and "Flowers-that," and "Flowers-for-the-Oasis!"   
  
Revalla didn't think the latter extremely necessary.  
  
  
As he thought of it, however, he tilted his head upwards in order to glance up to the water's surface. Sure enough, the shadows that resembled the spread out pads of lillies were admist, almost threateningly in state. His hearing traits had already caught on to the ongoing blabber of people, and their talks of floral since then, but now, they were growing stronger, as they usually did. Tomorrow night would bring a play; the next would take place at the Damcyan Castle, where the royalty there would finish up the damning three-day tributal to flowers with a dance - of which he was sure it had something to do with dirtiness, foul play.  
  
But yet, all the villagers returned by early morning, drunker than Titan himself, by which he was tempted to rise from the water, and attack a random passerby who jousted about living even after holding his breath for thirty seconds. In less than three could the Water Hag prove him and his onlookers _dead_ wrong.  
  
The desire was great, and easily achievable, but a choice.  
  
Since the Crystals' of Gaia's return to their rightful providers - Water, Mysidia. Wind, Fabul. Fire, Damcyan. Earth, Toroia. - the great goddess which embraced the Blue Planet had broken through the chain that had bounded her, and her sister, SeLunYa (or Luna, as most knew her as), to the gates of Oblivion, making her free to judge and rule the inhabiting creatures once again. The permissable desire that Zeromus, the evil that had first taken over Luna before proceeding to Gaia, had granted upon the world's creatures to attack and kill instantly had been prohibited by the Earth Maiden herself, though she took _some_ pity on the stupider creatures who didn't know roasted chocobo from a fresh orchard apple. The punishment to come afterwards was death of their own, unless rightly justified.  
  
It just wasn't worth it, he had decided. He was sure that somewhere out there, someday, evil would rise again, and the killing could continue as though it'd just been a short break.  
  
**

* * *

  
  
  
_Oh, but it can, Revalla, it can._  
  
The frightening feature of Water Hags certainly wasn't helpful in displaying inner surprise, especially at the sound of someone else's voice. Even though he had glanced around, and saw nothing, his visage still remained in an annoying smirk as though it'd been branded there.  
  
"Evil rise? What Revalla do to help Evil rise again?"  
  
_For starters, if you could kindly give me a bit of your skin, I'd appreciate it_.  
  
Revalla blinked..  
  
_Your SCALES, stupid._.  
  
"Revalla not stupid," he grunted, creating an overly large bubble that he was sure would possibly attract anyone looking at the oasis at the moment. "Revalla don't have any'thin' to picks it off with.".  
  
The voice sighed. _Those charming nails of yours wouldn't help at all?_ His shoulders raised almost humanlike before taking a talon against his scales. The sharp raking of his nail down an arm not only caused the needed particles of scale to fall off, but possibly more than what the advocate needed.  
  
"There you go," he said, nodding vigorously, ignoring the sharp, sucking sound of the talon being ripped from his arm, and dark, massive blood which flowed freely from the rather huge gash resulting from the prior action. "What Revalla do now to help Evil rise again?"  
  
A golden mist rose from the ground, embracing, and began to swirl underneath the fallen scales. One by one they disappeared like diamonds; slipped into the warm desert sand, only to leave behind a sparkly residue of memory.  
  
_Yes, yes.. This is more than enough_, gloated the voice. _With proper culture, perhaps I could take the remorseful excuse for stupidity out of splice, and actually create a useful population of you creatures. Thank you, Revalla. You've served me well, and deserve a rest; Forever, of course. Maybe you won't need to breathe anymore, so you'd better make this one your last! Farewell._  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  
Dark-blue eyes, wide and full of curiosity, peered down into the depths of the Oasis water, just as their owner's chubby little hands had finally finished tossing the last of the handfulls of petals, as a priest would bless his people with the sweetened nectar of incense..  
  
"Something's.." the rifts of her angelic voice spewed past her small lips as she slowly kneeled, a digit outstretched to tap the water insignificantly.  
  
  
_Ah, little one.. You shouldn't be alone..!_ The girl's eyes widened, a hand immediantely clamped to her head. Her gaze never wavered from the water, though - Afterall, that's where the screaming thought, and a flash of gold within her peripheral vision had emitted.  
  
"Come on, sweetie, Mama's got to get back to the Flower Booth to help Aunt Rikara sell things for the festival," sang out the tones of a dusk-soprano voice. The child didn't have to glance over to see the rifts of a dark-blue skirt flare around a pair of legs, nor up to see the familiar visage of a smiling woman, dark-brunette curls just barely toppling over her shoulders.  
  
Instead, the girl continued to sit there, ignoring the woman.  
  
"Alana Noelle, did you hear me? The king and queen are going to be here soon too, and I want to see the surprised looks on their faces when they see some of our best flowers, so come on!"  
  
"Mama.. Look at the water. It's darker than usual," the girl mumbled, barely audible to her mother, as she reached down to touch it once more.  
  
"Alana Noelle!" the woman instantly dropped her basket of roses in order to swipe up the child in her arms.  
  
"But.. Mama, I.. I wasn't gonna fall in.."  
  
"You know that the Oasis water is supposed to be left alone for the Flower Festival days," whispered the woman, soothingly. "You see all those beautiful flowers out there on the water?" she nodded, finally resting her gaze for the first time upon the Oasis, in which she lightly grimaced. "During the days of the Flower Festival, they're supposed to provide a small portal in which the souls of demons past can escape through to finally meet the Great Beyond. For any monsters still living in the water, they're our thanks to Gaia for no attacks ever since .. Well, you were just born then," she flustered, hurriedly. "Perhaps there's a demon in the water, and Gaia's punishing him right now. If you interrupt the cycle, you'll likely interrupt justice.  
  
"Now then, are you ready to go help Mama and Aunt Rikara sell some flowers? We'll dress you up like we did last year, and maybe you can dance with _Polomu_'san again, depending on if you'll wear that pretty dress I made you, or not," she lightly shrugged her arm in order to keep her daughter in balance before reaching over to pick up the fallen basket, which, luckily, had retained the floral objects.  
  
Alana hadn't heard a word her mother said after the explaination of Gaia's Justice; although she was only two, she knew by her mother's voice that the murkiness in the Oasis water further proved her theories about life and death as they would seem so to a child.   
  
**


	4. Chapter 2: To Kill a Mockingbrat

To Have and To Hold  
The Second Chapter  
By Aa-chan / Angel Magess  
  
Disclaim: Same as first chapter, buah.  
  
  


~ *~ * ~*~* ~

  
  
**Chapter Two: To Kill a Mockingbrat**  
  
"I know that all of you knew my previous words - senses aligned like the moon and stars - would be spoken tonight, but no doubt is it true, everyone: My visions of a destroyed Crystal Tokyo are stronger than ever, and all of us need to be on alert starting tonight, especially for concern of our people more than us."  
  
The gentle, flower-like swathings of Lady Princess Selenity's (also fondly called 'Chibi Usa,' by her parents, and the planetarial soldiers alike) voice did little to overpower her audience into staying calm; In fact, the girl winced to see the hateful expressions of digust clearly moulded on each of her comrades' visages, and the fast-paced whispering each of their lips flared into. Her head shook, hand reaching up to scratch a temple closely hidden in the massacre of lush shoulderlength cherry-blossom-coloured tresses, as she inadvertely glanced at her parents - her mother seemingly intrigued with a fork; her father groaning quietly at her mother's actions.  
  
_They're not gonna be much help_, the small maiden thought, reeling her gaze back to the soldiers, and clearing her dainty throat. "Everyone, I -"  
  
"Do you think she still could be mad?" Soldier Mercury burst, honestly not hearing the princess beginnance to speak. The soldiers' eyes quickly shifted to the empty seat adjacent to Soldier Neptune upon her words.  
  
"Haruka? Nonsense. Soldier Uranus is still the same Haruka we've known her as," responded Soldier Mars, absently tucking a lock of raven-black hair behind her ear, and ignoring the glares the other soldiers (sans Neptune, who was staring almost boredly at her plate) gave her.  
  
"Papa, I told you that you shouldn't of asked her to lead the _senshi_!" snapped Princess Selenity, figuring now to be a good time to remake her presence known amongst the gatherings.  
  
All heads turned to the shrill voice of the girl, wincing slightly as they did so.   
  
King Endymion sighed, glancing at his daughter through a solemn headshake. "Yes, Little Selenity, I know, I know. I'm going to go talk to her," he added, standing from his chair next to the queen.  
  
"Don't forget to tell her about Chibi-Usa's premonitions, and party!" crowed his wife, tugging slightly on the coatsleeve of the indigo jacket he wore.  
  
This mere mentionace made her audience groan slightly once more. Even pregnant for a second time, and older nonetheless, the queen still never ceased to amaze her comrade soldiers with her overly forgetful-like remarks.  
  
Princess Selenity's eyes widened, glancing from either parent "A party?! But Mama, Papa.. I don't want a party this year!"   
  
"I won't, dear," the king sighed, glancing down briefly to cast a warm smile back at her bright one, purposefully ignoring his daughter.   
  
"I'll make sure he won't," remarked a quiet voice, yet audibly heard over the telltale scraping of the chair against the marble floor. Everyone didn't have to look to see (although they did, just in case) the Time Guardian and Soldier of Pluto quietly standing next to her chair. "I'm going to accompany him, as there are a few questions I'd like to ask as well," she nodded, glancing across to the king, who, struggling to keep a serious face, nodded his approval (his wife frowned, however, as did the rest of the court maidens, when they were sure the daughter of Chronos wasn't looking.), then Michiru, who shook her head, and glanced back down to her plate.  
  
"Hurry back, Puu, Papa. I don't think I can last that long with Mama," said the princess, unable to hide her smile. The queen rolled her eyes, shortly shooting a mock glare at her daughter, ultimately trying to hide her disapproval at the Time Guardian's imperitivity to join her husband. She and the rest of the court, save her daughter, thank the Moon, knew of the strange bond between the Elyusian-born prince and the daughter of Chronos, and each knew it wasn't one of friendship.  
  
"And just what is that supposed to mean, _Chibi Usa_?"  
  
Endymion patted his wife and daughter's heads (in a diverted remark towards both their intentions to make the other mad), and started towards the dining hall's exit, nodding to the Plutonian Soldier as he did, who followed.   
  
  
Little did either know that would be the last meeting with family and comrades for quite awhile..  
  
  


~ *~ * ~*~* ~

  
  
  
The lanky, stacattolike clattering of booted heels against an equally shell-hard floor (such as marble) quietly reverberated in a dark hallway, not too far off from where the planetarial soldiers, and the queen still sat at their table, attempting to look busy eating the remains of their dinner for sake of young Selenity, who was still rambling on over 'necessary precautions' to insure the safety of their kingdom.  
  
_Flippity brat. I can't wait to see her dreams shattered_.  
  
The stepping - muted by way of the princess' shrill voice - came to a halt in order for a pair of caliginous amethyst eyes, also eerily hidden in the darkened path, to slowly scan over the gathered court. Had anyone been able to see the ethereal figure, clearly past the robe she was wearing, all they would've honestly saw were the beginnings of a harsh smirk upon violet-stained lips and visage, and nothing more.  
  
_Come here, to my side._ Amid the dark robesleeve her arm raised, a shadowed medley of digits curling up into her palm as was done. Almost before the tips of her gnarled (or so they appeared) knuckles touched her covered shoulder had a small onyx pool of opaque dust swirled and swished in whirling bouts at her unarmed front.  
  
_I said 'to my side,' moron._ Violet lips downturned into a growl of disgust, eyes briefly shimmering in glared assaults (which, of course, no one of the court noticed, as the equally darkness-shrouded being was blocking any tempts of view). _But of no matter. The king and his little mistress, or so I have gathered, are somewhere down the hall. I want you to find them, and bring me back their hearts wrapped in locks of their own respective hair as your proof of killing them. Got it?_  
  
A low rumbling protruded from the figure, which was hunched over as though it had a bad back, but definetly didn't seem humanesque at all, especially by the dark-sapphire shimmer of scales in an adjacent light..  
  
  


~ *~ * ~*~* ~

  
  
  
"I can't believe we're stuck on this goddamn, pansy trip to _Flower Hell_!"  
  
Everyone sitting within the hovercraft - Damcyan's preferred method of transportation, as Anna had previously inerated - blatantly ignored Palom's remark; The Bard offhandedly glanced at his wife with a look that plaintively said, "Just like him, no?" whereas Porom sighed boredly, letting her small body finally uncap a tone of relaxation to sink comfortably into the leathery-soft cushions surrounding her back, and undersides.  
  
The child wasn't content to shut up, however. "This is all YOUR fault, Porom, you.. you.. Demented, demonic BITCH!"  
  
"PALOM!" the two monarchs sitting in the seats in front of them thundered.   
  
"Oh, shut up, Palom, and start taking some responsibility for your actions," grumbled the boy's twin sister, raising her arm to swiftly block a half-attempted bash to her head, both ignoring their parents, as per usual. "Besides, it was Mother who wanted to go to the festival."  
  
"But you _agreed to go with her, you.. you.. agreer! Agreer! Agreer! __Agreeeeeeeeer_!"  
  
Porom shook her head, turning somewhat to glance out at the endless ocean amid the shores of Damcyan. Too many times over had the child magess found her way out of listening to her brother annoy the everliving star-lights out of her was to simply ignore him.  
  
Palom didn't catch her drift, as usual. He took Porom's gesture as an advance to stick his tongue out, and make stupid faces at her turned back. "_Psssst. Poorooom_.. Por-_DUMB! Agree-gree-gree_ -- OW!" _That ought to get him to hush for awhile_, thought Edward, glancing briefly at the boy's half-stunned, half-angered expression off the windshield's reflection before turning his attention back to the path he was guiding the hovercraft over. His wife pummeled him in the shoulder.  
  
"Edward, slamming into that shallow like that was extremely unecessary! You'll throw the Hovercraft off into the water, and we'll be stranded!" snapped the monarchess, who had known this attempt to make their son shut up was going to happen, like it usually did on trips in the Hovercraft with both children.  
  
The Bard didn't bother glancing back at his wife. "Not a worry, Anna. This machine's designed to travel especially over the shallows without hesitation. Besides, even if we were thrown off, we still have the emergency fuel to propel us back over them," he chuckled, glancing over at the Damcyani queen, whose glaring visage was also still pale from fright. "In fact, Crude Steve, the airship pilot you adore so much," (here, he winked briefly at her, before resuming his gaze on the shallow's path), "and his father were both the main developers in the production of putting the craft together all those years ago."  
  
"Oh yes. That puts my worries to rest allright," mumbled Anna in a sarcastic tone, finally pulling her glare away from Edward to the ocean. The essence of the Water crystal hadn't fully penetrated her lithe soul like her daughter, but there was a string of solace she genuinely found within the sunlight gently sparkling upon the water's surface, like the diamonesque display of crystals in the sand, and nighttime sky.  
  
_Almost as beautiful as being de_.. Her head shook slightly, cutting off the incoming thought with the sharp snap of her teeth to her bottom lip.   
  
It had been nearly a year since the Mysidian Elder, the twins, and Edward had.. performed "the act," which, by a hasty reversal of souls, and the predicament of Porom's blessing by the Lunarians, had allowed the four of them to draw full life back into the only daughter of the grand Red Mage, Tellah. Of course, however, two setbacks remained: The loss of her memory before she met the now king of Damcyan, and an unsealable hole that an arrow to her lower area. The forementioned dilemma, obviously, had been fixed, but the latter seemed uncurable..  
  
Even in the company of the three - though their lives were often split due to either duties with the Mysidian Academy of Magic, or monarchly agenditites - the young queen still felt an open sense of sadness. The other queens of the ruling nations, such as Fabul and Baron, had known of her previous demise by way of saving Edward, and were a bit hesitant to accept the reality that a child had restored full life to her, let alone without a scratch (save for the aforementioned), as were their husbands, and those who ruled either in solitary, or tolitarian government. So far, the only thing she found closest to calling a friend was a summoner of the Misty Village, Rydia, also an ally of her husband's.  
  
But perhaps they were truly friends? Every visit, the two women were inseperable, so to the point her husband, the Ninja king of Eblan, Edge, had often nastily joked that the reason why Eblan didn't have an heir yet was because his wife was obviously romantically interested in the Damcyani monarchess. (The result of that remark, of course, was a usual smack in the ribs as administered by the summoner.)  
  
"When we get there, Anna, do you, Porom, and Rydia want to entourage the flowers? Edge, Palom, and I can go off by ourselves, if they don't have any objection to that," bade her husband, almost as if he were reading her thoughts.  
  
"I have a damn objection, damnit!" piped up Palom, but to all three ignoring him once again.  
  
Anna's gaze seemed to of toned down to the exact same beauty of the sun's reflection upon the sapphire-drenched ocean - this Edward noted with an almost surprised infacture, as her eyes came to rest in interlocking twine once again with his. "Yes, that'll be fine, I suppose. Porom?"  
  
"No one asked me!" Palom interjected once more.  
  
"Of course, Mother; Whatever you wish," responded the small White Magess, lashing out a fist to *KER-POW!* her twin to the side of his brown-tressed head at the same time. The boy snarled, and raised his own fist to return the abrasion, only to have his sister catch his fist, and take a lash at his shoulder before he had a chance to throw his other arm in.  
  
"Go ahead and throw us into a shallow again, dear. It's better than listening to this," sighed Anna, as the twins' scuffling quickly turned up notches.  
  
  


~ * ~ * ~*~ * ~

  
  
  
Garnet-coloured oculars shifted to and fro, almost in alluring time to the solemn, echoing steps the Time Guardian and Earthen endower enunciated in their sojourn down the hall leading to the suite that the soldier of Uranus 'resided' in.   
  
_Come and rest in the darkness.. in the darkness of another moon!_  
  
Her head whipped, dark-olive tresses thrown in the same direction in a similar deadly manner that her regal form often intimidated. "My king; did you hear that?"  
  
A quiet sigh pulsated through the monarch's nose, vocals restraining an annoyed emphasis. "Setsuna, it's not going to work. In fact, how dare you try, especially just a couple of days before young Selenity's sixteenth birthday, and with Usa --"  
  
Her hand quickly gripped his forearm, nails squeezing in a deathlike vise that it made Endymion wince slightly. "Quiet, my king!" she hissed, gaze affixed down the already traversed portion of the hall behind them. "It'll hear us."  
  
"I'll make sure _they'll_ hear me if you don't let go this instant," growled Endymion, attempting to release the Plutonian Soldier's grip upon his arm.  
  
Chronos' daughter instantly complied, but not to his demands.  
  
"Watch out, my lord!" A bare dark-olive-skinned shoulder instantly slammed just below the king's shoulder in attempt to shove him back.  
  
Endymion, confused, soon found himself sitting on the floor, but glaring at the soldier of Pluto nonetheless. "Setsuna, what the hell is --"  
  
He couldn't finish his sentence out of the pure horror-infused awe of seeing another form - unfamiliar at that - in front of Setsuna.  
  
"Run, my king! Please, get Haruka, then get everyone else out of the palace!" Setsuna's white-dressed frame instantly slid into a fighting position. "She may still have Saber!"  
  
Something of unwonted distress told Endymion the Time Guardian wasn't ploying to seduce him this time. "I told you to keep the Garnet Orb!" snapped the monarch, however scooting back upon the floor before standing, and rushing down the hall towards the Uranusanian soldier's room.   
  
  


~ *~ * ~*~* ~

  
  
  
"Damn straps," Haruka snorted, attempting to pull the flimsy vinyl belt of her ivory dress sandal through the nearly nonexistant hole of the buckle. "_Odango-sama_ should just let the past go. We _are_ still soldiers under her command afterall."  
  
Her ice-green eyes instantly shifted up expecting to hear a comment from Michiru. Of course, though, the soldier of Neptune wasn't there in front of the vanity mirror the two women often shared (Michiru more than Haruka.), nor anywhere about in the huge, apartment-like section that the two had been granted in their stays at the Crystal Palace.  
  
_Ah, Michiru-san. If only I could tell you how sorry I was for snapping at you_. Damn the buckles. Interladen fingers released the thin, worthless piece of material as though it were garbage, only to throw her whole muscular limb into action, and kick the sandal off violently.  
  
_If you were here with me right now, we'd run away_... The soldier released a heavy sigh, her back meeting with the soft bedding matress. Limbs sweeping up to properly stretch out her tall, lanky form upon the bed barely missed the speculate chunks of crystal piece which fell from the ceiling where her sandal had met just seconds ago (the shoe had ricocheted with an annoying _SMACK_ at a bare angle, and, oddly enough, landed on her bed.). _Run away, and try to remind me that protecting our king and queen is our destiny, and we'll meet death with i, although together, again... And of course, you'll fight with my embrace, and argue like you usually do. But that's why I love you.. I love you, damn it. You've always known it. I've always known it. We were reborn to find each other once again. If fates had it, I'd -_  
  
  
The barely audible sound of the outer room door handle clicking cut sharply into Haruka's thoughts, sending her to sitting up with a jolt.  
  
_Probably Odango-sama, or Little Selenity_, she mused, throwing a glare at the ornate clock as she quickly sat up, and began stabbing at properly buckling her sandal once more, _and I wouldn't blame them. Dinner has probably already been served, the meeting done, and briefings sent. I'm a failure to even the others I love the most!_  
  
As the footsteps neared closer to Haruka's door, however, the soldier of Uranus felt yet another cold, sharp slice, this time into her senses. The slow, catlike stepping of heels against marble definetly didn't match with the bouncy, raucous steps of Princess Selenity, or her mother (even with her pregnancy, she still seemed to walk with an usual school-girl flair), nor the sleek, metronomical tunes of Michiru.   
  
"Who's there!?" The sandal was kicked off once more (this time, not too far from where its twin sat innocently by the bed.) before standing, kneeling, and quickly reaching a pre-gloved arm between the double-boxed matress. Digits tightened angrily (visage resembling the same anger) halfway towards their destination as the doorhandle gave off a shrill rattle.  
  
"Dammit, I said who's there?!" The arm sandwiched between the matresses shot forward, hand splitting open like a perennial in bloom in a successful attempt to grab the item, which, by the time, she had it safely out, the doorhandle gave off yet another annoying rattle.   
  
Like pure water frozen in the brink of winter's tides did her gaze seem to harden even more as she stared silently at the object in her hand. _Saber.. You should've been destroyed along with me, along with Galaxia, but I call on your mercenarial assistance again, even if the price itself means death._  
  
"Allright! I've warned you enough!" she snapped, glaring to the door as it gave off a rattle once more. A hand brushed away the dark navy blue blade cover to reveal the familiar sight of the silveresque bane as pure as it was the day she last used it to strike within the heart of a Daihmon. Intrigued, she ran a finger amid the curved, almost circular portion of where the Moon-forged sword rightfully took it's name, and winced in result; _Still sharp, are we?_ she mused, raising the glove-severed digit to her mouth. Silence didn't last for long.   
  
The door rattled, then clicked, alarming fair noise to the supposition of intrusion. Haruka's arms raised forward, the sword's handle clenched tight in both hands.   
  
Blood continued to drip, clinging almost lovingly to the marbled handle before making a departure for the similarly marked floor. The splatter of the first droplet was the last memoir of solitude before the soldier's perceptions went on an uncharted whim.   
  
  


~ *~ * ~*~* ~

  
  
  
Author's Note: If you're wondering whether or not Queen Selenity is pregnant with Kousagi.. Well. Nyah. Not telling. :P Stay tuned for Chapter 3! -- which should be done soon. 


End file.
